Anger and desperation, fuelled by over 10-hour-long power cuts, spilled on to the roads in Gurgaon on Tuesday morning with residents of several areas blocking the vital Gurgaon-Delhi Expressway.
Hundreds of people blocked the road — a vital link between the city and the Capital — over an
unprecedented dismal power scenario on Monday and Tuesday. Both the days witnessed power outages in the range of 12 to 18 hours. To save the situation, the discom imposed a complete blackout on the industrial units in Udyog Vihar on Tuesday but it did little to improve the situation.

The agitation, during the peak hours, led to a massive seven-kilometre-long traffic jam on the expressway. Traffic in Palam Vihar, Udyog Vihar, Shankar Chowk, Sector 21, 22, 23, Kapashera Border and other parts of the city also moved at a snail's pace because of the agitation.

People were seen waiting helplessly to reach their offices. "The traffic came to a standstill around 8 am. I was going to Delhi airport to receive my relatives, but for over four hours I have been stuck in the jam," said Om Prakash, a local resident. Residents alleged that they got only four hour power supply on Monday. They also claimed that the power helpline did not work.

Fearing more road blockages in the evening on Tuesday, some of the companies allowed their employees to leave early to avoid jams. "We were asked to leave before 5pm as against our routine 7pm to avoid possible jams due to agitation," said an employee of G-Cell, a BPO in Sector 32.

"It was a virtual blackout in Sectors 21, 22, 23, 23A, Palam Vihar, and Carterpuri, Mulahera, Choma, Sirhaul villages. There was no water since there was no power. The heat and humidity added to the anger. People had to spend sleepless nights, sweating profusely," said BS Tripathy of NGO, Mission Gurgaon Development.

Earlier on late Monday night angry local residents of Sector 52, Wazirabad staged a protest against poor power supply and pelted stones at the power station. The power station employees had to take shelter in the office premises.